Editor, RE: “FARG seeks Rwf28bn for survivors’ homes” (The New Times, January 27). Currently, Rwanda faces a shortage of housing, and it gets worse when it comes to most vulnerable groups, especially survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi, who often times do not even have families that can help them. Thus, I am humbled to express my gratitude to FARG and our government at large for the latest effort. However, allocating a sizeable budget is not enough; you have to think about the design of those housing units themselves. Find architects and other professionals to rethink and redesign those houses efficiently and at a lower cost; Rwf17 million is a lot of money speaking from a designer’s perspective. I always feel bad when I hear that survivors’ houses that were constructed in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide are already being renovated. It is often said that it was a matter of who built those houses while we seem to forget the role of design. I would advise FARG to look for professionals in architecture and construction fields to get a sustainable design scheme. There are young architects and engineers who would be willing to rend support, they just need to be talked to. We might not give you the money, but we can bring our skills. Patrick Kayeye
